


Fast Times at SmoshGames High

by orphan_account



Category: Smosh
Genre: AND THAT'S REALLY WEIRD AND UNCOMFORTABLE AND CREEPY, DON'T SHIP REAL PEOPLE, Multi, ORPHANED BECAUSE MY FRIENDS SHIP MYSELF AND ANOTHER FRIEND
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-20
Updated: 2015-08-17
Packaged: 2018-01-20 04:26:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1496617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Follow the Smosh crew as they navigate high school! Complex love triangles and lots of drama are a given. Basically this is all you could want from a cheesy highschool AU featuring your favorite Smosh dudes</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. First Day

It was all so stupid and cliché that it made Joven’s guts twist, but here he was and there she was and there was everyone else.

* * *

The day started off like any other day. Joven woke up, showered, brushed his teeth, and threw on some jeans and a T-shirt. He stared at himself in the mirror for an embarrassing length of time, then scooped up his backpack and pounded upstairs into the kitchen. He grabbed his bike lock key off of the counter and rushed out before his parents could catch him and say hi. It’s not that he particularly disliked them. He just needed the bike ride to school to build up some friendliness before being around people, and he hated being snappy with his parents. He always talked to them when he got home. Well… sometimes. He had stuff to do, okay?

First period was boring and cold. He had Algebra 2 with Mrs. Hobbs, and though she was a nice lady, her voice put Joven to sleep almost every day, especially since it was his second time taking the class. Plus, on the way to school there was still moisture in the air and dew on the grass, getting Joven’s clothes just damp enough to be uncomfortable. At least he was too cold and tense to fall asleep.

It was during second period that the day had a total 180. Usually Chem with Mr. Bennett was dull but tolerable. Joven didn’t have a lab partner, which was mostly alright by him. He liked working with others, but most of the kids in class didn’t give a shit about any of the subject matter, so it was better to work alone. Well, it _was_. Until today.

Twenty minutes of class had already come and gone when the classroom door opened. The bird-like guidance counselor, Ms. Reynolds, peeked her head around the corner before opening the door wider and ushering in the girl who was standing behind her.

“Mr. Bennett?” she cawed, waving her hand in greeting. Joven could only think of a wing flapping.

“Can I help you with something, Liz?” he replied tiredly. He used her first name, but Joven suspected that Bennett and all the other staff were kinda done with her shit.

“Well I’m sorry to interrupt your class, but I’ve got a new mind for molding to drop off!” she smiled and left, leaving the girl standing at the front of the class by herself.

And that’s when it happened. Joven looked at that girl and he felt his heart beat fast like a baby’s in his chest. He felt rockets shooting from his gut and saw them exploding like fireworks in front of his eyes. His feet tingled and his mouth felt hot.

This was all a physical reaction to something pretty insignificant, to his reasoning. I mean, he knew nothing about her. He only felt this way because human biology wants everyone to get some. You know, for the good of the race and all that. Not that he wanted to… ah fuck it. No, wait-

“Joshua… Joshua?” Bennett said, waving his arm to get Joven’s attention. Joven’s head snapped to look at him.

“Uh, uh… yes, sir?” a giggle rippled across his classmates as Joven’s cheeks grew red with embarrassment.

“Would you mind too terribly if the lovely Miss …” he trailed off, gesturing towards the new girl.

“Oh!” she said, putting her hand on her chest. God, even her voice is cute. “I’m Mari. Mari Takahashi.”

“Ah, thank you. Then, would you mind terribly if Miss Takahashi became your lab partner? Not that you have much of a choice,” he said with a wink in Mari’s direction. She met him with a sympathy laugh.

“Um, uh, no,” Joven tripped over his words. Mari started to walk over when he realized that his stuff was all over the table. “Sorry,” he said, mostly to the class in general, as he swept his backpack and binder onto his side of the table.

“That’s okay,” Mari said, sitting down. Joven swallowed hard and tried to ground himself in reality. She was perfect in his mind: beautiful, kind, probably intelligent. He could daydream about a girl like her for hours.

But the reality was that she seemed kind of… sad. He observed her for the rest of the hour, discreetly of course, and he could see it. Underneath her neutral expression, she was very upset about something. _Maybe it’s me. Maybe I’m freaking her out. I should focus on the lecture_ , Joven thought to himself, mind going a mile a minute. _No, more than that. This isn’t about me. There’s a million reasons why she might be sad. I should be more considerate_.

Bennett ended the lecture early, but he wouldn’t dismiss them before the bell rang. As Mari was packing her things into her book bag, Joven took his chance.

“Uh, Mari?”

“Yeah?” she turned to him, eyebrows raised. There was still something in her face (her perfect, perfect face) that gave Joven the impression that she was upset about something. He decided to drop it. If she wanted to tell him, she would.

“Uh, well, lunch is next hour and I was just wondering if you had anyone to hang out with?” Joven had pushed through the writhing wall of anxiety and came out breathing and unscathed on the other side. Well, mostly unscathed. “Oh! But, uh, it wouldn’t be just me. I mean, I just thought- “

“That would be great,” Mari said, smiling. Her smile reached her eyes, a good sign, at least to Joven’s reasoning.

“Really?” he asked in disbelief.

“Yeah, sure. I mean, I’m a transfer student and no one’s spoken to me all morning except for you. You seem nice,” Joven swallowed thickly as she continued. “I’d love to have lunch with you and meet your friends.”

* * *

That brings us to the present. Joven stands awkwardly next to Mari. His friends Ian, Anthony and his girlfriend Kalel, David, and Matt stare at the two of them in silence. This stalemate lasts for several seconds. There is no noise but the dull roar of the other students surrounding them. Joven clears his throat.

“Okay. Well. Guys, this is Mari.”

“Hi, Mari,” everyone says in unison. Joven quirks an eyebrow in one part confusion and two parts _can you please play it cool a pretty girl is with me_.

“And Mari, this is the guys.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, Joven,” Anthony says, putting down his sandwich. “That’s it? That’s how you’re going to introduce us?”

They’re still standing. Is it weird that they’re still standing? Joven grabs two chairs from a nearby table and scoots one in Mari’s direction. She takes it silently but gratefully.

“Well, yeah. What’s wrong with how I did it?”

“Anthony’s got a point. She still doesn’t really know anything about us,” David says through a mouthful of chicken salad. “In fact, she probably doesn’t know anything about you either.” He wipes his mouth on a paper napkin and leans across the table, looking Mari dead in the eyes.

“Look, Mari, one time in the third grade, Joven found this worm and put it up- “

“Alright, alright! Fine!” Joven shouted, holding up his hands. “Anthony, what would you prefer?”

“Well I don’t know. Let’s introduce ourselves. Just go around the table and say hi so that way we end on Mari and she can say hi too.” Anthony explains.

“Uh, can I ask a question first?” Mari asks, looking at Joven.

“Yeah, shoot.”

“Why does everybody keep calling you Joven? I thought your name was Joshua,” she says. The underlying negativity in her face and voice would normally have made Joven recoil, but he is determined to improve this girl’s mood.

“Well, you see Mari, it all has to do with the worm incident- “

“David,” Joven says, cutting him off. “Enough with the worm incident.” He turns to look at Mari. “Okay. The real reason is that my full name is Joshua Ovenshire, and those two clowns,” he says, pointing at Matt and David, “went to middle school with me. We coined the nickname there.”

“Oh, okay,” Mari says, curiosity satisfied.

“Okay then,” Ian pipes up out of nowhere. “I’m Ian. I’m a junior. I like long walks on the beach and- “

“Oh shut up!” Anthony says, lazily smacking Ian in the chest. He pantomimes extreme pain and Kalel laughs, covering her mouth.

“Okay, okay,” Ian says, recovering. “Really though, I like video games and food and Anthony is my best friend.”

“Yeah,” says Anthony, looking at his bestie with fondness. “We are best friends. I’m Anthony and I am also a junior. I like basically all the same things he said except I add Kalel to my list.”

“Aw, Anthony,” Kalel says, snaking her skinny arms around one of his. She releases him and looks at Mari. “I’m Kalel and I’m a sophomore. I love fashion and makeup and all that girly stuff but I love video games too, so I think we’ll get along no matter what type of girl you are!” Kalel is laying the sweetness on thick, Joven notices. She’s a girl, so she can probably tell that Mari is upset too. Right? Isn’t that how it works?

Mari smiles. “I’m the same way.”

“You have no idea how happy I am to hear that,” Kalel says with a whoosh of relief. “It’ll be great to have another girl to hang out with. Ian’s girlfriend Melanie goes to another school and none of us are really sure if David’s girlfriend even exists- “

“Hey!” David says indignantly, and everyone laughs. Joven looks at Mari and feels lighter. It’s like the more she smiles with them, the genuinely happier she gets. Her smile is beautiful.

“Go on then, Lasercorn,” Matt says, poking David with his fork. “Tell us aaaall about you.”

“Lasercorn?” Mari says. It appears the one of her eyebrows has shot so far up it’s threatening to leave her face entirely. The ghost of a smile is twitching at the corner of her mouth. Pure delight dances in her eyes. It’s hilarious, and Joven is entranced by her.

“Ah, yes, the majesty that is Lasercorn is me,” David says, placing a proud hand on his chest. “Yet another relic from middle school years, only this time tracing back to a specific origin.”

“And that origin would be…?”

“A drawing I crafted during Ms. Harris' History class. Not just any drawing, no, but a drawing of a unicorn. A robot unicorn. A robot unicorn with a laser horn. And... a rocket launcher on its back.”

Mari’s eyebrow has now gone home, but her eyes are wide.

“That. Is. Fucking. Awesome,” she says finally, and she reaches across the table to collect a high-five from David. Everyone laughs again and Joven sighs. It’s so weird that they’re all already having so much fun together. _It feels like she’s been friends with us for years_.

“Anyway,” David continues through the tail end of his laughter. “I’m David. I’m a senior and my girlfriend is very real. She just lives in Texas, so- ”

“Sure she does,” Matt interrupts with a sarcastic smile. Mari smiles too. Joven suddenly feels his guts twist again.

David shoots Matt a look before continuing. “AHEM. Uh… I can’t drive and I’m allergic to shellfish.”

“Good to know,” Mari nods, giving him a peculiar look. He flashes a cheeky grin before continuing to eat his lunch.

“Guess it’ my turn then,” Matt says, raising his hand earnestly and smiling. Joven feels the wispy tendrils of jealousy tickle at his heart. What’s happening?

“I’m Matt Sohinki and I’m a junior. A lot of people just call me Sohinki, so you can too if you’d like,” he says, modestly scratching his head. “I’m a PC gamer mostly, but I’ll play anything. I like hip hop music and I do stand-up at the community center sometimes.”

“He’s good, too,” Anthony interjects. “We go to see him perform all the time.”

“Yeah, Matt’s great!” Kalel says with a smile.

“Ah, thank you,” Matt says, looking at his hands in modesty. Again, jealousy flares in Joven’s chest. Who was Matt, anyway? He was just some girly-handed nerd. Why did Joven feel so fiercely inadequate? He just wanted Mari to like him. Why was Matt always doing this?

“Joven?” Ian says, drawing Joven out of his thoughts. Everyone at the table was staring at him, including Mari. “It’s your turn.”

“Oh, right, sorry,” Joven says, blood rushing to his cheeks. “Well, I’m Joshua, but as I said before, you can just call me Joven. I’m a senior like David. I love comics and games just like the rest of these goons. And… yeah.”

“Okay, no one cares,” Matt says, waving at Joven like a fly. The rest of the table laughs, all except for Mari. Joven wants to weep tears of joy at her indifference to Matt. “Now it’s Mari’s turn.”

“Uh,” she starts. Joven’s irritation at Matt melts away as she starts to speak. “Well, my name is Mari, obviously. I’m a senior too. Um… I don’t know, what do you guys want to know about me?”

Everyone spoke at once.

“What school did you used to go to?”  
“Why’d you transfer? Summer is like two months away.”  
“What’s your favorite movie?”  
“What do you like to do?”

“Are you single?” Matt asks last, and everyone laughs. Joven does too, but loudly without breaking eye contact with Matt. There is a glint in his eye. Joven furrows his brows slightly. _God damn it. The son of a bitch knows what he’s doing_. Joven is so heated about Matt's asshole-ishness that he hardly notices how Mari seems to deflate. Her sadness is brought to his attention only by a noise of anger from Kalel, the only other person who apparently noticed Mari's change in emotion.

“Uh, wow Matt,” Kalel says, leaning over. “That was super rude.” Her face is genuinely disgusted.

Matt throws his hands up. “Kidding, kidding. Mari, I’m sorry.”

“That’s okay,” Mari says softly with a smile. _Maybe she’s upset about a break-up?_ “Uh, well… I moved here from San Francisco a week ago with my mom. It was her idea. She wanted a change, and I guess I did too. It kinda sucks but I’m glad I met you guys.”

“Us too, Mari!” Kalel smiles and reaches across the table to clasp Mari’s hand. Mari returns the gesture in earnest.

“But yeah. I dance ballet and I love rock climbing, but I love playing video games and stuff like that too.”

“Well, awesome,” Ian says, finally finished eating. “Now that we’re all acquainted, wanna go look for stuff at the game store?"

“What? You guys are allowed to leave for lunch?” Mari says with surprise. “Do we have time?”

“Oh, yeah,” Anthony says, dumping his school stuff into his bag. “We have open campus for lunch and it lasts an hour, so we can do fun stuff every day if we want.”

“Fuck yeah!” Mari shouts, smiling big. Joven’s heart sighs.

Matt and David stand up. “Well, let’s get going then. Who’s driving?” asks David.

“Well now that there’s seven of us, we’ll have to split up and take two cars,” says Anthony.

“Mari, you should ride with me!” Kalel says, walking to the other side of the table and looping her arm through Mari’s.

“Okay, so then I’m going to assume you’re riding with me, David?” Ian says, pointing at his friend.

“Yeah sure." David smacks Joven on the upper arm before walking over to Ian and swinging an arm heavily across his shoulders. "Let’s go, Joven.”

“Well, wait, I- “

“Yes?” Ian asks, and everyone turns to look at Joven. His eyes dart to Mari’s briefly, but then settle on Matt’s. Matt is grinning at him like a chatty monkey, the bastard. He’s so pleased with himself that he gets to ride with Mari. Joven clenches his jaw. If he says something now, Mari will know or at least suspect how much he likes her. Not to mention how awkward riding with both her and Matt would be.

“Uh, nevermind. Let’s go.”


	2. Kalel's Car

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The reason for Mari's foul mood is finally revealed!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is mainly from Mari's perspective and covers the events of the journey to the game store as seen by the people riding in Kalel's car. Next chapter will be everyone in Ian's car. None of these are beta read so I'm sorry if there's mistakes or it's boring or anything. Enjoy :)  
> (PS Mari's experience with Peter is based off of a real-life situation!! Boys fucking suck!)

It is established that they will all be meeting at the Power Player across from the Dairy Queen on the east side of town. The two groups walk together as far as the parking lot, then split so Ian, David, and Joven can walk to the junior lot and Kalel, Anthony, Matt, and Mari can walk to the sophomore lot. Mari stops walking abruptly.

“Wait, Kalel?”

“Yeah Mari? What’s up?” She stops and turns back to look at the older girl.

“You’re a sophomore, right?”

“Uh, yeah. Why?”

“Well, can you even legally drive all of us?” Kalel, Matt, and Anthony all share a look and smile knowingly at one another.

“Honestly? No.”

“Well wait then why are you driving? Anthony, you can drive right?”

Anthony walks a few steps back to close the weird distance between them. “Technically, yeah. But I don’t really have a car right now. Matt can drive and he has a car, but for whatever reason he won’t drive to school. So all we have is Kalel.”

“Why don’t you drive to school, Matt?” Mari asks, confused.

“Anthony, you’re such an asshole. You know why I don’t,” Matt grumbles crossing his arms. “She’s a 1984 Fiat Sport Spider, okay? Who knows what could happen to her in a parking lot like this.” The group resumes walking as he talks, Mari trailing behind reluctantly.

“Look Mari,” Anthony says, glancing at her over his shoulder. “Sohinki thinks he has a classic car, but what he really has is an old piece of shit.”

“Hey, fuck you Padilla!” Matt says, fake punching Anthony in the shoulder. “Like you would even know.”

Kalel and Anthony laugh. If she was being honest, Mari didn’t really even want to go to the stupid game store. She didn’t want to hang out with these people, or Joven, or go to this school, or even live in this stupid town. She was a whirlwind of negativity this morning, and the whirlwind was still there, but it was weaker now. These people, these friends, had calmed it and made it slink slowly out of her.

Kalel and Anthony were talking about something or other with Matt intermittently jumping in to make comments, so she was left alone to think as they walked to the car. It wasn’t like she didn’t have anything to be upset about, because she definitely did. And yet after spending mere minutes with these people, Mari felt better. Her frustration about the move, her painful thoughts of Peter, her resentment for her mother; they all faded away when she was with them. Initially, she thought Joven was a real creep, but as it turns out, he’s really funny and cool and so are all his friends. Mari puts her hands in the pockets of her hoodie and smiles.

“What are you so smiley about?” Matt says, looking back and wiggling his eyebrows.

Mari laughs. “Nothing.”

“Oh come on,” Matt says, dropping his head to the side and raising his eyebrows knowingly. “No one does anything for nothing.”

“I don’t know,” Mari says, shrugging. “It’s just… when I came to this town, to this school… I didn’t think I’d meet anyone or make any friends. I came here assuming I’d just be alone until graduation.”

“Seriously?” Matt says, turning to walk backwards. Kalel and Anthony were already at the car, but Mari can’t remember how she and Matt had fallen behind.

“Yeah, seriously,” Mari says, face falling only slightly.

“How could you even think something like that?” Matt says, voice full of genuine concern. At this point, they’ve both reached the car.

“Think something like what?” Anthony says, opening the passenger door.

“That she wouldn’t make any friends here,” Matt says, opening his own care door without getting inside. Mari walks around so everyone is just standing outside their doors and talking outside of the car.

“Really? Why’s that?” Kalel asks, getting in the car. This triggers everyone else to get in too. They buckle up and peel out.

“I don’t know, the combination of a lot of stuff,” Mari explains. “It’s like three months until graduation and… yeah I don’t know.”

“Well I guess your prediction was wrong then, because we’re your friends,” Matt says smiling at Mari.

“Yeah, Mari. We’re definitely your friends!” Kalel pipes up.

“I mean, if you want us,” Anthony says with a laugh.

Mari doesn’t know how to feel. One part of her is still cynical and angry for her lost life, but another part of her is so lonely she could die. The two sides play endless tug of war. She’s so overwhelmed that tears spring to her eyes before she can stop them. Embarrassed, she blinks them back.

“Thanks, you guys,” Mari says, trying to keep her voice even. “I really appreciate this.”

“Of course, Mari,” Kalel says, reaching a hand to the backseat and giving Mari’s knee a squeeze. “And we have a lot of time to have even more fun together, right guys?”

“Yeah, this is only the beginning,” Anthony says, smiling at Mari too. It meant something especially touching for Mari to see Anthony smile like that. He seemed like such a non-serious, funny guy. To see him reach out and make a genuine gesture like this caught her off guard.

“Just wait. Everyone’s a whole lot weirder than you think,” Matt jokes, bringing lightness back into the atmosphere of the car. A tear almost escapes when Mari laughs, so she brushes her eye quickly, but she can tell Matt has seen.

In all probability, everyone in the car had noticed at least something, but now wasn’t the right time for Mari to explain anything. Worst-case scenario, they’d all get bored or think she was a gossipy bitch or who knows what else. It sucked not having anyone to talk to about what went down with Peter, but everything must come in its time.

 

_It was late. Later than it should have been. Later than what was smart. Mari was restless; Peter hadn’t called her or texted her telling her he’d gotten home safe like he said he would. She couldn’t help but worry. She hated it when he went to parties. She’d only ever gone to one once with some other girls from the dance studio, but it just seemed dangerous and boring to Mari. There were too many uncontrollable variables in a scenario involving thirty intoxicated teenagers crammed into some stranger’s living room for Mari to be comfortable with._

_So she didn’t go with Peter to this party. He said it was just some hockey friends he was going with, but Mari was still worried. It was almost 4 am and she’d had no word from him at all. It was so late and she was exhausted, but she couldn’t let herself fall asleep until she heard from him. She stared at her textbook before giving up on homework and watched a movie instead._

_It was 5:30 when her phone finally rang. Mari nearly knocked over the table in her haste to grab it. “Hello? Peter, is that you? Are you okay? What’s happening?” Already, something was wrong. He didn’t respond right away, and when he did, he sounded completely sober._

_“Mari. Hey.” Mari’s heart leapt into her throat. Something was definitely wrong._

_Mari immediately went on the defensive. “Peter, what?”_

_“Look, I’m sorry you stayed up so late waiting for me. I meant to call you sooner, I just-“_

_“Peter,” Mari repeated with deadly precision. Now was not the time for bullshit. “What?”_

_Peter sighed heavily before replying. “Look, Mari, I’m so sorry. I just… I just don’t know if I can do this.”_

_“If you can do what?” Mari asked, voice trembling despite her efforts to stay calm._

_“I think… I think we should, maybe… take some time off,” he said finally. Mari could picture him in her mind. He was sitting somewhere, pinching the bridge of his nose like he did when he felt guilty about something. The thought made her heart accelerate to a surely dangerous rate in her chest, and her breaths came in great gulps._

_“What are you saying?” Mari would have cringed at how pathetic she sounded if she wasn’t so overwhelmed._

_“I’m-I’m saying that… I think I just need to be single for a while,” Peter said with a sigh. Mari was breathing hard in disbelief. “I mean, we’ve been together for a year and… I just need to know who I am if I can continue being with you, you know?”_

_Mari was stunned. And she felt stupid, so_ stupid _, because she should have seen it coming. He had been acting strange for weeks. He was distant, reserved. Sometimes he’d barely speak to her when they spent time together. That only made the truth harder to swallow. She had tried so hard to be a good girlfriend. That’s why she even stayed up for that call in the first place. And now, this? It was a blow to the chest that had knocked Mari off her feet._

_“Mari?” Peter said, his tone soft. “Mari, I’m sorry.” When Mari responded, her voice was hollow._

_“No,” she breathed, her face an emotionless mask. “It’s fine. Do what you need to do. Goodbye.”_

_“Mari, wait-!” Peter tried to continue speaking, but Mari hung up her phone._

_She inhaled deeply, and a wave of crushing sadness washed over her as she exhaled. She clutched her chest and leaned over to catch herself on the sofa before sinking into it slowly. Her body was wracked with sobs so forceful she woke her sleeping mother. She couldn’t even explain what happened until the next morning she was such a mess._

 

That was two weeks earlier, and Mari is still upset. And why shouldn’t she be? Only days after the break up she found out through Facebook that Peter was back together with his ex, Heather. He lied. The betrayal stung hard, and now Mari was in an entirely new situation. Peter was her first boyfriend, her first kiss… she hadn’t known anyone else but him romantically. It felt strange to be single after all that.

Lost in thought, Mari didn’t even notice that they had arrived at Power Player. Everyone is getting out of the car before she realizes she’s just sitting still, staring into space.

“Mari, aren’t you coming in?” Kalel asks, poking her head back into the car.

“Oh!” Mari says, startled out of her deep thoughts. “Yeah, sorry. I just kinda spaced out there for a second.”

Kalel laughs. “It’s okay. Come on.”

Mari gets out, but she’s still behind everyone else. She sees Joven walk into the store. They lock eyes and Mari gives a little wave. Joven returns the wave with enthusiasm, almost running David and Ian over. He looks away, embarrassed. Mari smiles and looks for Matt in the group, but she can’t find him. She looks to her side and he’s there.

“Hey Matt. What’s up?”

“Dude… are you okay?” Matt asks, sticking his hands in his pockets. All traces of the cheeky, sarcastic boy from earlier are gone, replaced instead with solemnity.

“I mean,” Mari begins. She holds his gaze for a moment but has to look away because his expression is so intense. The concern is just a mild undertone to his expression. It’s strange and unfamiliar to Mari. “Look, everyone’s probably wondering where we are, so…”

“Okay,” Matt says, respectfully dropping the subject. “Well…”

“Yeah?”

“Want a hug?” He asks, opening his arms. Mari almost laughs, but his expression is still so serious, even with a tiny smile turning up the corner of his mouth, that she can't bring herself to turn the offer into a joke. And with that, a rush of emotion flows over Mari, pulling her in under the current. It feels so natural, falling into Matt’s arms. The embrace is short and polite, the way strangers would hug, but it’s comforting nonetheless. Mari decides she likes Matt, and that he is on the list of allies with Kalel, Anthony, and Joven. Ian and David are so far pending, but she likes them well enough too. Everyone will probably make it there eventually, but for right now, it’s Matt’s time to shine. She smiles as they break apart.

“Come on. Let’s go kick Joven’s ass at some demo games.” He says, waving her into the store with him. She follows happily.


	3. Moving On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joven reflects on the past and makes steps towards a new beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm cranking these chapters out as fast as possible. I realize that almost literally nothing has happened in the last two chapters, so I'm trying to speed shit along... sorry... I love you all!! Thank you for reading!

The boys walk with Kalel’s party until the group splits to head for their respective parking lots, and the rest of the journey is spent in complete silence.

Ian unlocks the car and David takes shotgun, leaving Joven to be the President of the Back Seat. As soon as the doors slam closed, the spell of silence is broken.

“So, it’s clear that Joven’s pretty much in love with Mari, right?” Ian says, exaggeratedly turning to look at David and propping his elbow up on the middle console.

“Affirmative,” David replies, mirroring Ian’s body language.

Joven can only sit in embarrassed silence, ears flushing bright red at their scandalous accusations.

“Look, he can’t even defend himself,” Ian laughs, breaking into a big grin and gesturing at him, as if David was unaware that Joven was in the car.

“You poor lad,” David says, leaning to pat Joven’s shoulder. “Finally, a woman has managed to tempt you with her wicked wiles.”

Joven finally speaks up. “You guys aren’t going to tell her, right?”

Ian puts a hand to his chest melodramatically. “Joven! How could you assume such a thing?!”

“Enough with the theatrics, Ian,” Joven says, annoyed now in earnest. “I’m being serious. You guys can’t say anything.”

“Dude,” Ian rolls his eyes and peels out, speeding out of the parking lot. “We’re just fucking with you. We won’t say anything.”

“Yeah, Joven,” David says, turning back around. “Your secret schoolboy crush is safe with us.”

“And it’s about time, too,” Ian says, launching the car over a speed bump. “When’s the last time you had a girlfriend, eighth grade?”

Joven flushes again. “It was freshman year, thank you. And she moved to Vermont, so… shut up.”

“Yes, yes, we know,” David says, waving his hand limply in dismissal. “You forget that one person in this car was here for that experience, and the other has heard the story from the thousand times you’ve told us all about it.”

“Okay, well, that’s because it was- ”

“The tragedy of your young life, yes, we know,” Ian groans, David making air quotes around the word _tragedy_. The car squeals around a corner. “That’s what we mean, Joshua. It’s been three years since you were with Erin. Frankly, I’m sure everyone’s _relieved_ that you like Mari. We can all see it. It’s time to let her go and move _on_ , man.”

Joven doesn’t know what to say. Ian had called him “Joshua,” which meant that he was being sincere. David only nodded, but from Joven’s view of him through the side mirror, he wasn’t smiling. Joven sits back in the seat and looks out the window at the scenery flying by.

He hadn’t even thought about it, but he had completely closed himself off after Erin. Looking back on it now, he’s sure he hasn’t thought about girls almost at all in the three years since things ended with Erin. Sure, he’d notice a pretty girl in class or at a track meet, but he never had any interest in dating any of them.

And now, here was Mari, and so far, she was perfect. Joven could definitely envision their life together. Her going to track meets to watch him run, him going to her ballet recitals. They’d play video games and watch movies together. It would be, well, perfect.

The only problem was Matt.

“Do you guys really think I have a shot with her?” Joven asks, testing the waters.

“Well, yeah. I mean, I don’t see why not,” David says, once again waving his hand in the air lazily. “She seems a little withdrawn, but I bet she’ll open up sooner than you think.”

Joven groans. “That’s just what I’m afraid of.”

“What do you mean?” Ian asks, speeding to cross the intersection before the yellow light turned red. “Wouldn’t that be a good thing?”

“If it was with me, yeah,” Joven says, rubbing his face with both hands and sighing. “But I think… well, I’m just afraid that- ”

“That Matt will get there first?” David quirks his eyebrow and crosses his arms knowingly.

“How did –?” Joven starts, but then gives up and hangs his head. “Yeah.”

“Yeah, god, that’s a tough pickle you’ve got yourself in,” Ian says, rubbing the hairs trying so desperately to be a beard on his chin. “Because he’s definitely giving her the moves.”

“I know,” Joven wails, rolling his head back on the seat.

“To be fair, you kind of got there first. That’s unofficial dibs,” David says, holding up a finger like a scientist. “Technically, she belongs to you.”

“No, no, don’t say stuff like that,” Joven says, waving both hands and scrunching his brows together. “She’s not a rare Pokémon card or something to be traded and bargained over. She doesn’t belong to either of us. The choice is hers; I just… want her to pick me.”

Ian sighs. “Look, if you want us to talk to Matt–“

“No! No, that is the last thing I want you to do,” Joven says, sitting bolt upright. “That’ll only make it worse. Usually Matt’s so cool and he’s a really good friend, but when it comes to girls, well… he’s _such_ a cock.”

“Yeah,” Ian agrees, nodding as he pulls into the parking lot of Power Player. Kalel’s car is yet to be seen. He puts the car in park and turns it off, but they all stay inside to continue talking.

“Look,” David says, shifting to look at Joven over the back of the passenger seat. “You really like this girl?”

Joven responds immediately. “Yes.”

“And you really want to be with her?”

“Yes.”

“Then who cares what Matt does?” Ian says, getting animated. “If you like Mari and you want her to be with you, you’re going to do whatever it takes. Don’t let Matt get in your way.”

Joven sighs. “I know. It’s just… Matt's my friend. I don’t want to fuck that up over a girl.”

“Honestly,” David says. “I think you should talk to him.”

Joven can only blink. “Are you kidding me?”

“No, I’m serious. Or we could,” David motions between himself and Ian, offering again. “He’s probably just not thinking. He knows everything that happened with Erin too. He wouldn’t swoop in and ruin this for you on purpose. Someone just needs to remind him.”

Ian nods. “Yeah, man. It’s like you said. He’s a good friend of yours and you’re a friend of his too. I’m sure he’ll leave it alone if you explain the situation a little.”

Joven looks out the window in exasperation and sees Kalel’s car coming down the road.

“Look, we can talk about it later. Let’s just go inside. I want to see if they have the Black Ops game guide.”

Ian and David share a look before nodding and ducking out of the car. Joven lags behind, somehow exhausted from their conversation in the car. Kalel’s car pulls into the parking lot just as he enters the store, and Joven can’t help himself; he waits and watches out the giant windows for Mari.

Kalel’s party takes their sweet time getting out of the car, but Anthony and Kalel are the first ones inside, leaving Matt and Mari still standing by the car. Anthony and Kalel immediately find their way to Ian and David, so Joven can’t help but watch the scene outside.

Mari is looking at her feet. She still seems upset, Joven observes disappointedly. _But… wait a minute…_

Matt opens his arms for a hug. Mari only hesitates for a split second before accepting and returning the embrace. They only hold each other for a moment, but that short amount of time is enough to plunge the icy blade of jealousy into Joven’s heart. Hurt, he turns away and joins the others. The best thing to do is to act normal and pretend he saw nothing, so that’s what Joven does.

                 

* * *

The shopping excursion goes off without a hitch, and the gang returns to school, loot in hand, with fifteen minutes to spare.

“Hey, Joven!” Mari calls from behind him as he walks back into the school. He holds the door for her. “Thanks.”

“Sure. What do you need?” He tries to be as pleasant as possible. There’s no way she’s going to like him if he’s just some gloomy asshole all the time. Mari, however, looks much brighter than she did this morning, which confuses Joven’s emotions. Sure, he’s glad her mood has improved, but there’s no guaranteeing how much of that is due to Matt’s hug. It’s bittersweet.

“Well, I have Calculus next and I have no idea where to go. Can you take me to room 203?”

“Oh yeah, sure,” Joven says. She hands him her schedule. “Ohh, Mr. Collins. You’ll like him. He’s super funny, even in math class.”

“Oh, great!” Mari smiles at him, and Joven can’t help but smile back. _She’s so cute_. “Hey, check and see if we have any other classes together!”

“Uh, let’s see…” Mari leans over on tiptoes to see where Joven is pointing, and the warmth in his chest is overwhelming. “Okay, so we (obviously) have Chemistry together,” Joven congratulates himself internally on the quality of that pun. “But it looks like we also have Speech and Foods together.”

"Oh, awesome! So, you can show me where all that stuff is too, right? And you’ll save me if I get lost?” She asks, big smile still on her face.

Joven laughs. “Just call me Super Joven! I’m here to save the day! May you never get lost in these hallways again.”

Mari laughs with him and takes back her schedule. They walk together, side by side, up the stairs and to Mari’s calc room.

“Here it is, 203,” Joven says, gesturing stiffly towards the door.

“Awesome. Joven?” Mari turns to him and looks him right in the eyes. Joven can feel his heart speed up and prays to whatever is watching over him that he isn’t blushing.

“Uh, yeah?”

“I just wanted to thank you. If you hadn’t talked to me today, I doubt anyone would have. Thanks to you, I got to meet all these awesome new friends and I won’t have to be lost at this school anymore and… just… thank you so much. You’re a great friend.”

Joven’s heart swells. She holds out her arms. _Oh god, it’s happening,_

_it’s happening_. Without hesitation, Joven leans down and wraps Mari in his arms. She holds him close, much closer than she held Matt. Joven forces the thought out of his mind and tries to focus on the sweet, sweet present. She pulls away much sooner than Joven would like when the five-minute bell rings.

“Oh gosh, you’d better get to class,” Mari says, hand resting on Joven’s forearm.

“Oh, right. Want me to meet you here after so we can walk to Speech together?” Joven asks, trying to quell the anxiety bubbling in his chest. He hasn’t felt like this for a long time.

“Yes please!” Mari says with a laugh. “Again, thank you so much. See you after class!”

 She squeezes his arm before releasing him and whirling around to enter Collins’ room. Joven walks to English in a haze of bliss. _She_ hugged _me. She_ touched my arm _. The world is a beautiful place._

                  Joven decides that for once in his life, things are looking up.


	4. Tensions Rising

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kalel's got a surprise for Mari and Ian and David make a big mistake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boy oh boy, let me tell you, I was a little lost on where to go from here. But! Now! I have a storyboard! So I won't get lost again, hopefully. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. It was especially fun to write, mwahahaha!!!! Please leave feedback if you can! Thank you so much for reading, I treasure all of you!

Mari started at their school on a Tuesday after the three-day weekend. Since then, she and the crew have hung out every day at lunch. Now, on Friday, plans needed to be made for the next two days.

“So, wait, remind me again what we’re supposed to be doing tomorrow?” Ian says as he approaches the group. They were all standing around the vending machines at the athletic hall exit, waiting for Kalel to get out of dance class. As the words left Ian’s mouth, Kalel herself came bounding down the hallway.

“Oh, oh, oh! I have plans!”

“Plans?” David asks, turning away from Ian to look at her. “Do these plans include all of us?”

“Well, I mean, yeah, if you want. But,” Kalel says, grinning broadly and making her way towards Mari to snake an arm around hers. “It’s a special surprise I planned for Mari.” Ian stuffs his hands in his pockets and raises his eyebrows at Anthony. Kalel was always planning some fun ‘surprise’ or another for someone, and it wasn’t that they _always_ failed, but it was enough times to cause skepticism.

“What?” Mari says, turning away from her side-conversation with Joven at hearing her name. “A surprise for me? Why?”

Kalel giggles and pulls Mari closer to her, resting her head on Mari’s shoulder.

“I don’t know! Just because, I guess. Do I need a reason to do something nice for my friend?”

Mari laughs and messes with Kalel’s hair. “Well, I guess not.”

The girls had very quickly become friends in the few days that they had known each other. Kalel would frequently steal Mari away to whisper something in her ear and laugh, and Mari would go out of her way to approach Kalel in the group when it was clear she was becoming overwhelmed with the masculine energy. Some of the other guys were unsettled by this new development, fearing that the girls were talking shit (they were) or other such treachery was taking place. It was and is of no concern to Ian. It seems like a nice change, especially for Kalel, to have another female presence in the group. It definitely changed the dynamic, but it's nice to see Kalel open up a little more. Even Anthony was pleasantly surprised.

“So wait,” Matt says, holding out his hands. “Can we come or not?” Joven, Ian, David, and Anthony all train their eyes on Kalel expectantly.

“Yes. I’ll text you guys the details.” She squints in thought and scans the faces of her friends before jabbing her finger at Ian. “Especially you. There’s some other details I want to run past you, too.”

Ian can only nod before Mari huffs loudly.

“Ugh, you guys!” Mari whines, pulling away from Kalel and slumping her shoulders. “This is gonna kill me! Just tell me what it is!”

“We don’t even _know_ what it is!” Ian laughs, patting Mari on the back in an attempt at solidarity.

“Guys, can we wrap it up? I’m gonna miss the bus,” Matt says, looking at his watch. Ian can’t help but laugh, and Matt shoots him a look. “What?”

“Dude, just let me drive you home. The second-hand embarrassment I feel every time I see you waiting for that fucking yellow bus every day hurts me in ways I can’t describe.”

“Man, why don’t you ever give Joven shit for riding his bike? It’s the same damn thing,” Matt whines, gesturing to the aforementioned Joven, as the group slowly meanders to the exit.

“That’s because,” Anthony says, loudly shoving open the door and picking up the pace. “Joven doesn’t have enough money to have a sweet-ass car like yours.”

Joven drops his head dejectedly and nods.

“And guess what?” David says, slinging an arm across Joven’s shoulders and slapping him hard enough on the chest that Joven coughs a little. “Joven still has more dignity than you, because he took that shitty situation like a champ, and made his own way to school.”

“Yes,” Joven says, confidence renewed. He puffs out his chest and Ian can’t help but be reminded of a pigeon. “I’m a man who takes his life into his own hands. I also have to maintain this girlish figure somehow,” he croons with a flutter of his hand. Mari laughs and smacks him in the stomach. He lets out a wildly humorous ‘oof!’ noise and keeps walking, wheezing slightly.

“Oh my god, I don’t care,” Anthony groans, wrapping an arm around Kalel’s shoulders. “Ian, I’m getting a ride home with Kalel and Mari. Matt, I don’t give a shit what you do, but you should probably take Ian’s offer because it probably won’t happen again.”

Matt doesn’t respond, but keeps walking with the group instead of peeling off towards the bus circle, so Ian safely assumes he’s driving Matt home. _He looks pissed_ , Ian thinks, drawing his eyebrows together. _We must have taken it too far. Again._

“Yeah,” Ian says, gently tapping Matt’s arm with his own. “We can even get food on the way back if you want.”

“Lasercorn votes for pizza!” David interjects from a few paces back.

It’s a desperate attempt to cheer Matt up, but it seems to work at least a little, because he offers a half-smile at the suggestion. Ian looks at Anthony and mimes wiping sweat off his brow.

“Okay, well, I’d better go get my bike then,” Joven says, motioning with his head to the bike racks across from the bus circle. He starts to walk away. “Bye guys! See you tomorrow, I think?”

Mari is glowing when she responds, “Bye, Jovie!”  
  
What follows can only be described as stunned silence. Ian can see it all happen as if he’s watching a car crash in slow motion. Joven practically freezes where his feet are planted on the asphalt, but recovers remarkably well in under two seconds and keeps walking. Matt’s mood took a dive from bad to terrible, and Ian could almost feel the moisture from the imaginary storm clouds gathering around his friend’s hooded head. David’s eyes have lit up like a god damned Christmas tree, the opportunity for future ridicule almost too sweet to save for later. Kalel is giggling like a madwoman and Anthony has his fists balled and probably every muscle in his body flexed just to keep from laughing. Ian himself is one hilarious move away from completely losing his cool. The only reason they all manage to hold it together is the blissfully naïve grin on Mari’s face as she strolls through the parking lot.

Now, Ian doesn’t consider himself an overly-emotional guy, but seeing Mari like that fills him with something warm and syrupy and sweet and honestly? He can’t complain. She seems so, so happy in this place where she was certain she’d be miserable, so happy that she’s giving them stupid nicknames now and Ian loves it. One look at Matt, though, and it’s clear that the feeling isn’t unanimous.

After the groups split off, Ian, David, and Matt pile into Ian’s car. David takes shotgun and Matt is President of the Back Seat, and suddenly their positions mirror the car ride to Power Player on Tuesday, only Matt has replaced Joven. The thought makes Ian uneasy, so he starts the car and turns up the radio in hopes that Matt doesn’t voice his frustration. It isn’t that he doesn’t care, but the whole ‘who gets Mari’ situation is one he is growing to regret becoming involved with more and more every day. But the smooth sounds of Lynryd Skyrnyrd can’t protect David and Ian this time, and Matt slouches in his seat, ready to rant.

“Man, why’d you guys have to do that?”

Ian wants to roll his eyes all the way back into his skull. “Do what?”

“Embarrass me like that!”

“Dude,” David says, side-eyeing Matt. “We rip on you like that all the time. It’s never been an issue before now.”

“Yeah, well, that’s because…” Matt trails off, grimacing, reluctant to admit what Ian and David already know. Even though David lives closer, Ian is headed to Matt’s place first. It’s Friday, man. Ian just wants to go home and take a nap, not play ‘Matt has a crush on Mari? O-M-G, I tooootally didn’t know that’ with the two idiots in his car.

“Because what?” Ian says, taking the bait.

“Because…” Matt starts and stops again, crossing his arms.

“Because you like Mari and you’re jealous of Joven,” David cuts in, not even looking at Matt. Ian is so shocked he nearly doesn’t notice the light has turned green and slams on the gas, giving everyone in the car a jolt.

“How did you figure it out?” Matt says, surprised.

“Matt, I know you. I’ve known you since the third grade. I know how you are around girls you like and I _know_ you like Mari,” David says. Ian would be lying if he said he’s not impressed with David. Sure, he’s still wearing a smart-ass grin on his face, but overall David’s being very sensitive, something he is notoriously Not Good at.

“I just, I, I mean, damn it,” Matt mumbles, holding his head in his hands. “I just don’t want her to think I’m stupid. You guys made me seem stupid!” His voice took on a shaky quality and he is breathing hard.

“Are… are you crying?” Ian asks, glancing quickly over his shoulder.

“No. Shut up,” Matt says, clearly wiping his eyes on his big black hoodie. “I just… I just hate it when you guys make me look stupid like that, _especially_ with girls around. You know I hate that, you know I do.”

Ian feels guilty. On one hand, they know how sensitive Matt’s ego is, and they had almost gone out of their way today to be hurtful. On the other hand, they were trying to set Mari and Joven up, and things seemed to be going great. Ian feels compelled to pick sides, and when he looks up at David, he sees the inner turmoil reflected back at him in his friend’s eyes.

“We know, buddy, and we’re really sorry,” David says, patting the center console rather than his friend’s knee. “We’ll stop teasing you about your car.”

“Although,” Ian says, pulling to a stop in front of Matt’s house and putting the car in park. “I can think of no better way to impress a girl than to show off your sweet ride.”

Immediately, Ian regrets saying anything. Matt’s eyes light up for a split second before he suppresses them, but the damage is done. _Why did I even say that? This is a recipe for disaster_. One look at David is enough to tell Ian that he’s thinking the same thing.

“Do you think I should drive it to the thing tomorrow?” Matt asks, already out of the car and leaning in through the open door.

“ _No_.” Ian and David respond loudly at the same time. Matt shrugs, ever oblivious.

“Okay. Well. Thanks for the ride. See you tomorrow, I guess!” He saunters up the front lawn, all hidden smiles and secret confidence.

In dead silence, Ian pulls away and starts heading towards his own house. After what just happened, there’s no way David is going to allow Ian to drop him off at home. Ian can feel David’s eyes on his face, and he looks back once they stop at a red light.

“Ian,” David starts with a warning tone. “Do you know what you’ve just done?”

“Oh god,” Ian groans, thumping his head onto the steering wheel. “I’ve made a horrible mistake.”

“You realize that if _anything_ happens to that car…”

“Matt’s going to murder me, I know,” Ian sighs heavily and looks back to David. “We’ve created a monster.”

“Well,” David says, placing a firm hand on Ian’s shoulder as the car drives past the intersection. “As many a wise man has observed in times such as these: we’re fucked.”

“Yep,” Ian sighs and speeds down the road, off to home, where more wallowing and hopefully more pizza will be happening. It’s going to be a _long_ weekend.


	5. Surprise (part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Saturday, and Mari's big surprise awaits! Kalel meets Mari's mom and the boys are bored to tears. Special guest: Melanie!

Finally, finally, Saturday has arrived! Kalel hums the whole drive over to the park, purposefully ignoring the amused expression on Matt’s face in the passenger seat. Because Matt lives the furthest away from the park, Anthony and Ian were riding together with David and Melanie (who is joining them per Kalel’s request; it only makes sense that Mari know everyone), and Joven was riding his bike, it was up to Kalel to pick up Matt. She didn’t mind one bit, although to be fair, she probably wouldn’t mind driving around a live tiger right now. Nothing is going to ruin this day.

The plan is as follows: First, everyone but Mari meets under Pavilion D and sets up all the food and stuff. Then, Mari will arrive, and Kalel is going to pretend that the picnic is the surprise. Kalel will then receive a fake emergency phone call and leave the pavilion to take it, but actually go and pick up the real surprise instead. The final step is to bring the surprise to Mari and party it up from there.

Kalel has gone over the plan about four hundred times in her head since coming up with the idea, but she isn’t nervous. It is pure excitement that is buzzing in her chest and escaping her body through soft humming and tiny dance moves as she drives.

“You’re super excited, aren’t you?” Matt says, entirely entertained by Kalel’s tiny performance. She laughs and smiles at him.

“Of course I am! Do you know how happy Mari’s going to be?”

“No, no I don’t, because you still haven’t told any of us what this surprise even is.”

Kalel waves her hand and makes a face. “Oh Matt, don’t even worry about it. This picnic is going to be the best ever, and that’s a promise!”

Kalel pulls her car into the parking space closest to the picnic area and puts it into park. Before she can even get out, she has so much nervous energy that she squeals and wiggles in her seat. Matt, used to such displays, shakes his head a little and gets out of the car, already retrieving picnic items out of the back seat. Kalel takes a deep breath and gets out too, helping Matt carry things over to one of the massive picnic tables under the pavilion roof.

It doesn’t take long before the others show up. Joven arrives first, since his house is so nearby, and is followed by everyone else.

“Okay,” Ian says, handing the plastic eating utensils to Kalel. “So, how long do you have until Mari shows up?”

“Only ten minutes now, you guys!” Kalel says, taking the plasticware and jumping up and down excitedly. This is going to be the best surprise ever, Kalel was sure. If all went well, Mari would thank her profusely and everyone else would enjoy the surprise too, and they would all be friends forever. It was a perfect plan.

It isn’t long before everything is in place, so the only thing left to do was wait. Kalel is not good at waiting. She fidgets, paces, and cranes her neck every four seconds to try and see if she can see Mari’s mom’s car coming down the road. This act starts off as amusing and cute, but slowly the rest of the party becomes bored watching Kalel lose her mind and starts wishing Mari were there as well, if only to spice things up. The atmosphere is stale at the picnic table, all energy being sucked up by Kalel’s nervous squirming.

Joven starts to speak. “Kalel, can we please know what the surprise-“

“Shut up! She’s here!” Kalel shouts, her head perking up like a dog at the sight of her friend’s car. She takes off running through the grass and stops at the only vacant spot in the D parking lot.

Mari laughs at the sight of Kalel. Her eyes are wide and her smile is even wider, and her arms are practically shaking with excitement. As soon as she steps out of the car, Kalel nearly tackles Mari in a bear hug. Only caught a little off-guard, Mari returns the hug quickly with another laugh.

“Is this your friend Kalel?” Mari’s mother asks, half stepping out of the car. Her voice is soft and calm, and she very beautiful in a refined way. Her outfit is casual, a simple blouse and slacks, but she wears it like a designer gown. Kalel breaks from the hug and smiles at her. She looks so much like Mari. Moving across the car, Kalel reaches out her hand for Mari’s mother to shake.

“Yes, hi! I’m Kalel. I’m sorry I didn’t introduce myself, I was just so excited!” Mari’s mother smiles a small smile and waves her free hand.

“Oh, don’t worry about it, I’m no stickler for courtesy. I’m Judy, Mari’s mother. Mari was talking about this party all last night,” Judy says, her smile reaching her eyes as Mari ducks her head to hide her blushing cheeks. “And I’ve heard quite a bit about you, Ms. Kalel.”

“Mom!” Mari says, crossing the car to take Kalel’s hand (recently released from Judy’s handshake).

Kalel laughs. “What has she said?”

“Kalel!” Mari says, laughing and tugging on her hand. “Come on, come on! There’s time for this later! I want to see my surprise!”

Judy smiles lightly, eyes glittering with fondness for her daughter. “Have a fun time, girls. And it was lovely to meet you, Kalel.” She gets back into her car in one fluid motion.

“Nice to meet you too!” Kalel calls over her shoulder as Mari tugs her along.

The car speeds away and Kalel speeds up too, moving so that she is dragging Mari instead of being dragged by Mari. They walk in companionable silence before Kalel breaks it.

“I really like your mom. She’s super nice and really beautiful.”

“Oh, thanks. I’ll tell her you think so,” Mari says calmly. Something in her tone makes Kalel think this comment is one she’s heard before.

“You look a lot like her, I think.”

“I get that a lot,” Mari says, confirming Kalel’s suspicions. Mari sighs. “To be honest, I’m glad it was you that came to greet me. My guy friends always make jokes about my mom and it pisses me off.”

“I’m sorry, Mari. Boys can be so annoying sometimes.”

Almost as if they knew they were being summoned, the boys rush over to Mari and Kalel and surround them. Melanie waits politely at the picnic table, she and Mari still being strangers and whatnot.

“Mari! You’re here!” Joven says with big goofy grin on his face.

“Let’s get this surprise picnic party started!” David calls, punching his fist in the air dramatically. Everyone else follows suit and rushes the picnic table like they are rushing into battle.

The battle ensues! They all assemble sandwiches and pick up other things to eat and tuck in. Mari is introduced to Melanie with a mouthful of food, which ends up being a funny icebreaker that sends them into conversation immediately (well, after Mari’s done chewing). Everyone is having the time of their young lives when Anthony’s eyes meet Kalel’s and she nods. The movement is almost imperceptible, but Anthony whips out his phone under the table and dials her number. Commencing stage 3: Fake Emergency.

Kalel’s ringtone trills loudly, and she (very convincingly) looks surprised, picking it up to look at the caller ID.

“Hello?” She says, talking to no one. Her face quickly grows serious and she starts to bite her thumb, a nervous tick that Anthony didn’t even know Kalel was aware of. Mari stops talking when she notices everyone has gone quiet and all eyes are on Kalel.

“What’s wrong?” Mari whispers at Anthony, her thin brows drawn together.

“I don’t know,” Anthony says, playing his part as the concerned boyfriend very well. They all wait for a moment before Kalel pulls the receiver away from her mouth.

“I’m sorry guys, there’s kind of an emergency happening.” Seeing Mari start to say something, Kalel holds out her hand. “No, don’t worry. It’s not a huge deal, but I need to go take this call somewhere else, is that cool?”

“Of course, Kalel,” Mari says, nodding gently. “Do whatever you need to do.”

Kalel walks in the opposite direction than the one they came, looking one last time over her shoulder to wink at Anthony. Stage 3 completed successfully. All that needs to happen now is Kalel’s rendezvous with the precious cargo and the surprise should go off without a hitch.

Kalel hangs up the fake call as soon as she’s out of sight and makes her way over to pavilion C. She smiles when she sees the two guys sitting at the picnic table below.

“Okay, which one of you is Flitz and which one is Wes?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OHOHO!!!! That's right, our buddies Wes and Flitz are joining the party! Thought I'd mix things up a bit and throw in some more people. Plus, those two are being featured more and more in videos, and I think they're both super funny and awesome, so it just felt wrong to exclude them from the story, you know? Anyway, sorry to leave you guys with a vague cliffhanger, but... no I'm not. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! Kudos if you like it so far! Thank you x 1,000,000!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


	6. Surprise (part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wes and Flitz make their grand entrance, which stirs up some trouble with Joven and Sohinki. Meanwhile, Ian's got problems of his own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe I haven't updated this in a YEAR. I'm so sorry!! To be honest, I stopped writing because I stopped watching. I'm trying to catch up on everything I missed (two break-ups!!! what????) and I figured the best way to ease back into this fandom is to update this fic. So! Here we go!
> 
> (PS, I had to rewrite the entire first part of this chapter because my work got erased... sorry if it sucks)  
> (PPS I wrote this on my ipad so it got very shitty and laggy towards the end there. Forgive my minor spelling and formatting errors, I beseech you)

David takes a massive bite of his sandwich and eyeballs Anthony suspiciously. He's not like the rest of these idiots; clearly, there's more to this surprise than a picnic, and David knows that Anthony know what it is. He saw him flip out his phone and call Kalel. They both offered impressive performances, and since he was so curious, David wasn't about to ruin whatever it was that was coming.

That doesn't stop him from looking at Anthony though. All David wants to do is catch his eye, just for a second, and convey that he knows that Anthony knows what the surprise is, but Anthony refuses to look at him. It's starting to tick him off, actually, how determined Anthony is not to look at him. He's not even talking to anyone! Just staring off into space! The two of them look like goons, with Anthony looking at nothing and David just staring him down, eyes bulging in typical Lasercorn fashion.

David stops staring, silently forfeiting the contest of wills and letting Anthony win. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Anthony smirk before he turns to talk to Ian. The bastard.

Mari turns to Anthony, still visibly worried. "Athony, are you sure she's okay?"

Anthony starts to respond, but is cut off by Kalel's triumphant cry:

"Mari!"

The next few moments pass in slow motion. Everyone's heads whip around, Mari's hair shining bronze in the sun. From around the corner, Kalel is followed, oddly, by two towering dudes, entering the scene like protagonists in a movie. David put two and two together immediately, but some of the others are slow on the upkeep until Mari breaks into a smile and ruins her model-esque look by scrambling out from under the wooden picnic table. She bounds the few steps between herself and the guy with the perfect hair and throws herself at him, trapping him in a full-body hug like a koala.

"Wes!" she cries, squeezing the air out of him as he catches her.

"Hey, Mari," he wheezes with a smile, setting her down so she can hug the other guy.

"Flitz," she says with less enthusiasm but not with less excitement.

"What's up, dude?" he responds, rocking her a little in his arms

When Mari pulls away, she starts crying, causing Wes and Flitz to laugh out  few "awww's" and crowd around her, patting her head and shoulders. This only makes Mari hug them again, of course. Kalel laughs and claps her hands. Of course. This was her plan, and it's going perfectly.

"Kalel, oh my god!" Mari says, sweeping Kalel off the ground in a big hug. "How did you do this?"

"She just messaged us on Facebook one day and asked us if we'd come down for the weekend," Wes shrugged as Mari released Kalel.

"Yeah," Flitz said, wrapping his arm around Mari and squeezing. "Thought you might need some cheering up."

David's eyebrow curls as he watches the scene before him unfold. An interesting development indeed. He was so distracted by the tearful reunion that he forgot to check Joven and Matt.

The prognosis is grim. Joven is trying so hard not to be jealous and weird that he isn't even looking at Mari, instead stabbing his salad with his fork and pretending to be watching something far in the distance. Matt watches moodily out of the corner of his eye, head propped up by his fist like a grumpy kid at dinner. Okay, so, it's not great, but they're both clearly trying very hard to stop themselves from jumping to conclusions, and David can appreciate that. He makes eye contact with Ian and immediately knows that they're both doing the same thing. Ian shoots him a thumbs up and nods.

Mari is still crying and laughing and fanning her face when Ian calls to them.

"Hey, come over here and introduce us, Mari!"

 David stands and the rest of the picnic crew does too.

Mari wipes her face. "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry! Okay," she sniffles and grabs the hands of Wes and Flitz, dragging them closer to the others. "Guys, this is Flitz and Wes. They're my best friends from San Fransisco and I'm so freaking pumped you guys are meeting them!"

The two go around the table, shaking hands and introducing themselves individually. David keeps a close eye on Joven and Matt, just to make sure they behave themselves, but they both look a little nicer than before. Joven shakes Wes' hand just a little too tightly and Matt can't meet Flitz's eyes, but they both smile and greet Mari's friends like human beings. Ian shoots David another thumbs up, so he relaxes and just lets things ride. This is quickly becoming a very interesting afternoon.

* * *

 

 

After an hour or two of meet and greet chit chat, Ian decides that he likes Wes and Flitz. It's not that this is particularly surprising or anything, since they all get along with Mari, but it's nice when new friends and old friends like each other. He'll have to talk to the rest of the guys later, but Flitz and Wes seem like they'll make great additions to the team. They already exchanged gamer tags, though, so Ian suspects it's too late.

Even Joven and Matt are warming up to the new guys. Ian had hoped that they could put aside their weird Mari feud completely, and though there were a few hiccups initially, they were actually doing a really good job of being civil. It's nice to see them talk and not be pissy with each other for the first time all week.

It would be nicer if Melanie wasn't so quiet. It's been bothering Ian for a while that she sort of stopped talking after that first conversation with Mari, but he's not about to call her out or embarrass her right now. He hates it when she's upset, so it feels mean to keep having fun if she isn't having fun too, but he knows that Melanie would be much more comfortable if he talked to her later.

The party wraps up when Melanie checks her phone and says,

"Crap, I gotta go if I want to get to work on time."

"Yeah," Joven says, slipping off of the bench. "I need to go do my chores."

"Well, that's fine," Anthony says, standing too. "Let's just clean all this up and then we can all come to my house and play some Mario Kart or something."

Mari squeals and grabs Wes  on the bench next to her.. "Oh, please will you come? I'm having so much fun with all of you guys."

"Yeah, of course we'll come," Flitz grins but turns to Anthony with one apologetic hand up.  "Oh, I mean, if that's okay."

Anthony laughs. "Yeah,  dude, the invitation was for everyone.. Okay, how about this, Kalel takes me, Matt, Joven and David to my house with Wes,, Flitz and Mari following behind. Then Ian can drop Melanie off and meet us there. Sound good?"

"Sounds fine to me," Ian says, smiling at Melanie. She smiles back, but something seems weird. Whatever. They have the car ride there to talk about it.

 

They split up, heading to their vehicles. Mari is bouncing with excitement all the way to Flitz's car, so  Ian glances warily at Joven and Matt, but they look happy too.  He sighs a happy sigh as he steps into the car.

The second she closes the door, Melanie says, "Ian, I think we should break up."


	7. Breakup

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anthony and Kalel have it out, but David and Flitz have a plan to make it all better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, thank you all so much for your input. I'm still a little unsure, but I know where the general plot is going and this monster is starting to write itself. I wrote this entire thing on my phone. It's a problem.  
> Also, this chapter is pretty short, but I figured saving a full chapter for the party would make you all much happier >:)  
> Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy :)

"So she just... dumped you?"

Ian nods solemnly. "Yeah. No warning, just 'I think we should break up'."

Anthony sighs through his nose and rests his chin on his fist. "I'm sorry, man."

They're sitting on Ian's couch, talking with Hot Rod playing on the TV for background noise. Ian's mom was out shopping, so they knew they were alone to talk.

"Honestly, it's okay. I think she was right," Ian says, burying his head in his hands. His voice sounds weird and small. Defeated. Anthony hates it.

"Really?" Anthony is surprised. Melanie was Ian's first girlfriend ever and they'd been dating for almost a year until she ended it. Maybe he just wasn't paying close enough attention, but Anthony didn't even know anything was wrong between them. "Why?"

"I don't know, man. Something just... wasn't working. We both just kinda stopped trying."

Anthony hears in Ian's voice that there's something he isn't saying, but he decides to drop it. Ian knows the deal. When he's ready to tell him, Anthony will be there. It's really a nice understanding they have between them. Anthony knows from experience that most male friendships are pretty shallow, so it's nice (sometimes embarrassing, but bearable) to have someone he can talk about real, important shit with. But just because they're at that level of comfort with each other, it's not like Anthony expects them to share _everything_ with each other. A man's gotta have some secrets.

Ian stands up. "This is a bummer. Want some candy?"

"Um, _duh_ ," Anthony smiles, but it falls off his face as soon as Ian turns around. Hearing Ian talk about how he and Melanie fell apart has Anthony thinking about himself and Kalel. He's meeting her after this. She said she had something important to tell him, so naturally Anthony is starting to think the worst. Somehow, he feels like he _misses_ her. It isn't like it was with Mel and Ian; he and Kalel still love each other. A lot, at least on Anthony's end, but something feels different lately, like the nature of their relationship has shifted. The difference is minute, but Anthony can feel it. All of him wishes it was the way it used to be, whatever that means.

As Ian returns with the candy, Anthony checks his phone. "Oh, shit," he says, standing up quickly. "I'm going to be late to see Kalel." Ian deflates a little and Anthony winces. It's really not a good time to exit the conversation, but he _really_ has to go.

"Guess you better go then. Want a peanut butter cup 'to go'?" This time when Anthony smiles, he doesn't need to force it.

"Sure, man. Thanks. I'll text you after."

Ian turns back to the TV. "Alright. See you." Anthony wants to say more, feels like he's leaving something unsaid, but after a moment of hesitation he turns and walks quickly to the door, swinging it open and stepping out into the hot California sun.

 

* * *

 

"Hey, Anthony. I'm glad you could meet me."

 _Fuck_. She sounds so clinical, like she's in a business meeting instead of meeting her boyfriend for coffee. Everything about this situation spells trouble, from her tone to the way she's sitting, legs crossed with intertwined fingers resting on her knee, spine rigid. It also hasn't escaped Anthony's notice that she picked a public place to meet. They're on the patio outside of the Starbucks by school. Shit, no. He's just being paranoid. It'll be fine.

"Of course, babe. What's up? You said you wanted to tell me something."

"Yeah," Kalel says, perking up a little. "I have some pretty exciting news."

Curveball. Good news? "That's awesome! What is it?"

"Well," she starts, smiling and turning away bashfully, and Anthony can see her shining with happiness. Yep, definitely being paranoid. "I got a scholarship to this really, really cool acting camp in New York."

Anthony blinks in shock. "Oh my god, Kalel, that's amazing! Holy shit, I am so proud of you!"

Kalel laughs, but her voice cracks a little at the end. "Thank you so much, Anthony," she says with a sigh. When she looks at him again, her eyes are shiny with moisture and she looks like she wants to leap across the table and wrap him in her skinny arms and never let go.

"Hey, hey," Anthony says, reaching over and holding his hand out for her to take. She does, and clutches him so tightly her knuckles turn white. "What's wrong?"

"The camp is all summer."

 _Oh_. "Oh."

Kalel sighs a shaky sigh. "Yeah."

"Well," Anthony flounders for something to say. "Well, it'll be okay. We have phones and email and-"

"Anthony," she interrupts him, voice grave. "I don't think so."

Anthony says nothing. What is there to say? This whole conversation has been a roller coaster. So she IS breaking up with him? "Do you... are you..."

"Anthony, please," Kalel grabs him with her other hand. "Please understand. I still care about you. I still love you, so much."

Anthony makes a choked sound. Something heavy and oppressive sits in his gut. "Then why?"

"I'm-" she starts, but interrupts herself with another sigh. "It feels different. You and I. I love you," she repeats. "But I don't feel like your girlfriend anymore. I feel like your friend."

"You are," Anthony says, wincing at how desperate he sounds. "You're both. I just don't get it. Did I do something wrong?"

"No, no!" Kalel shakes his hands, tears slipping down her cheeks. "This is on me too. And it's okay. I'm really upset, really sad, but I don't think anything is wrong. I think this is the way it's supposed to be."

Anthony doesn't speak for a really long time. Kalel drops his hands to wipe away the tears still pouring out of her eyes. He runs a hand through his hair. "Kalel," he almost whispers. She looks at him, right in the eyes, and Anthony knows she's right. An odd peace takes hold of him. When he speaks again, his voice is tinted darkly with emotion. "You are so, so beautiful. And I love you so much." Kalel sobs once before clapping a hand over her mouth. "And if this is really how you feel, then I understand, and it's okay."

Kalel hiccups and laughs, smiling. Despite it all, Anthony smiles too. "Thank you, Anthony. I love you too."

They really had a good run. They really, really did. And Anthony doesn't want it to end, but hanging on would take her away from him forever. He has to let her go. He has to leave. Anthony stands up slowly, prompting Kalel to shoot up out of her seat. He holds his hand out for her, and when she takes it, he pulls her to him, wrapping her in a hug.

"I hope you have the best time in New York," he says, squeezing her tight. She squeezes back. She draws back and grabs his shirt. When she pulls him down into a kiss, it's slow and tragic. He cups her face and swipes away the tear that rolls down her cheek. They pull away and he looks into her eyes.

"Goodbye, Kalel."

 

* * *

 

After about a week of seeing each other every other day, Flitz decides that of all the Sacramento friends, he really likes David. Like, full-on best friend material. Most of the reasons he enjoys David involve him being nerdy or weird, but hey, Flitz likes nerdy weird shit, so that works just fine with him.

Actually, the past and future-Mari crews are getting along swimmingly. Ian is responsible for most of the friendship success, considering he forces everyone to actually follow through on the usually empty promises of "let's hang out soon!" and the like. While Flitz has sort of glommed onto David (and Matt. They've had many an impromptu dance battle), Wes and Joven became instant friends. Once they discovered their multitude of shared interests (weapons, specifically swords and guns, beautiful women, RPGs, etc.) they became nearly inseparable. If Joven is texting in class or at lunch and someone asks "who's that?", the answer is unfailingly always Wes.

Now, Flitz likes to think he's a pretty smart guy, and even though most of the time he's only using one eye, he's pretty observant, too. It took all of five minutes before he deciphered the Matt-Mari-Joven love triangle and the tension between Ian, Anthony, and their girlfriends. To be honest, it was a little jarring at first. Always, Flitz saw these things from afar, amused but disconnected from the drama in the lives of other people. Truth be told, though he's a pretty social guy, he's never had that many friends, at least not ones close enough to have this much mess with. I mean jesus, these people's dynamic is worse than the characters on Friends. Everyone is in love with everyone and EVERYONE'S got beef. It's almost funny. It's not, because it's annoying, but almost.

So when Ian and Anthony both get dumped within the space of a few days, Flitz is the least surprised, right along with David. David shares his disconnected air, and since he has a girlfriend that lived far, far away from these people, there are no romantic entanglements to trip him up. Flitz isn't too interested in romance either. He'll admit it: there was a time when Flitz wanted to pursue Mari, but that time is over, and things are much better and simpler because they just stayed friends. Their relationship is more fulfilling that way. If only the other guys could understand that.

Unfortunately, they don't, so when the crew gets together at Pizza Boy for dinner on Friday, you could cut the tension with a butter knife.

Ian and Anthony are both walking storm clouds, and though Joven is engaged in a heated debate with Wes about pairings in Red vs. Blue, he keeps getting distracted by Matt and Mari's conversation. Every now and then, Ian will make some snappy sardonic remark and Anthony will just groan and put his head on the table. Everyone deals with a breakup differently.

David gets a text and almost flicks his phone across the room in his haste to unlock it. Flitz waits expectantly as that idea glint glosses over David's eyes.

He slams his phone onto the table and shouts, "That's it!"

Everyone jumps.

"Jesus, David, what?" Ian says, clutching the edge of the table.

"This is awkward and depressing," David says it matter-of-factly, but that fire is burning in the Lasercorn stare. "And Shayne just texted me that Noah's parents are out of town and he's having a party. Tonight. So we're going."

"Wait, who are these people again?" Mari asks, and Wes nods, wondering too.

"Oh, Shayne's that guy in our Foods class," Joven says, pointing at her.

"The loud one?"

"That's the guy."

"Yeah," Matt chimes in. "And Noah's in Kalel's history class."

They all collectively cringe, waiting for Anthony to react, but he only blinks. Matt mutters an apology.

"Why does it matter?" David asks, exasperated. "When do you god damn nerds _ever_ get invited to parties?"

"But what about pizza?" Anthony asks, a little whiny.

"Fuck the pizza, Anthony!" Ian stands up so quickly his chair almost tips over. "David's right, we need to go out and have some _real_ fun. It's been a while since we've partied. Let's just go out."

At Ian's declaration, it seems like everyone is onboard but Anthony. He sighs and picks at his thumbnail, thinking.

"Fine," he says, throwing up his hands and standing. "Let's go."

"Alright," Flitz claps once, a big grin on his face. Finally, something in his element. Flitz thrives at parties. He's great at small talk, loves watching sloppy drunks spill things all over each other, and he kicks ass at party games. This is his chance to show his new friends what Flitz is alllll about. "Let's party."


End file.
